Walter Public Investments Inc. Purchases 30,912 Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)

Walter Public Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 199,057 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,912 shares during the period. Novo Nordisk A/S comprises about 3.1% of Walter Public Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $17,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 4,031,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,588,000 after purchasing an additional 40,475 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 3,074,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,125,000 after purchasing an additional 80,070 shares in the last quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,007,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,678,000 after purchasing an additional 286,912 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,362,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,266,000 after purchasing an additional 47,496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 75.1% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,052,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,477,000 after acquiring an additional 451,641 shares in the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novo Nordisk A/S Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:NVO opened at $89.67 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $84.99 and its 200 day moving average is $107.30. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 1 year low of $77.82 and a 1 year high of $148.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $402.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 84.68% and a net margin of 34.81%. On average, research analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This represents a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is presently 47.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on NVO shares. StockNews.com lowered Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Novo Nordisk A/S from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. BNP Paribas raised Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Novo Nordisk A/S from $156.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Profile

Novo Nordisk A/S, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research and development, manufacture, and distribution of pharmaceutical products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North America, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Diabetes and Obesity Care, and Rare Disease.